New York Jets Star Wide Receiver Given Shockingly Low Ranking Among Peers

The New York Jets wide receiver has not had the season that anyone had hoped for through three weeks and that is reflected by updated position rankings.

Sep 19, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (5) runs with the ball against New England Patriots cornerbacks Marcus Jones (25) and Christian Gonzalez (0) during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

While the start of the New York Jets season has been great for much of the offense, one star player is still trying to find his footing again.

Garrett Wilson hasn't been awful to start the season or anything, but he certainly hasn't excelled like he has in the past.

Given his star profile, it came as a shock to see him ranked so low as Pro Football Focus released their updated positional rankings. Wilson is just the 25th-highest rated wide receiver so far this season with a disappointing 71.6 grade. The connection with Aaron Rodgers hasn't come as quickly as many might have hoped/expected.

"Wilson is up to 15 catches for 150 yards on the season. He leads the Jets in targets (26), is tied for fifth in missed tackles forced (5) and has three catches of 15 or more yards," said Lauren Gray. "[He] is tied for third among all receivers with five red zone targets through three games. He’s caught four passes with three first downs gained inside the 20."

The good news for New York is that he wasn't a particularly fast starter last season either.

Over his first three games in 2023, the Ohio State product had 12 catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns. He still finished the season above 1,000 yards (though he only picked up one more score).

It was certainly still not an ideal follow-up to an Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign, but it was mostly just considered a product of poor quarterback play.

With Rodgers finally healthy for the Jets, hopes were high that the two would become fast friends and Wilson would look like superstar again.

Though that hasn't happened just yet, hopes should still be high that the two can become another great duo in the long line of players that Rodgers helped become elite.

The future Hall of Fame quarterback looks comfortable and decisive coming off of his injury, which should be promising for the future of Wilson in this offense.

Both players have plenty of talent, so the consistency should come in due time.

New York is running him in the slot a bit more than they have in the past, which has dropped his average depth of target by over a yard compared to last season. He hasn't had much in terms of explosive plays with his longest catch being just 26 yards.

Give the connection a few more weeks to grow before panicking about a player with as much to offer as Wilson.